Shipping from US to Australia ** And Other Countries

[Guest guest]

Howdy Pam .. other good folks ..

 

pam writes:

>

> I would like to ship some essential oils to a friend in Australia - but

> I'm in the states..does anyone know of any legal problems of shipping EO's?

>

> It looks like if I just fill out the form online at the post office and

> list

> them as eo's Ishould be ok - anyone else ever do this?

>

 

AVNP ships 15-20 orders a week to buyers in various countries .. 91

countries total we have customers in. The Post Office can tell you the

documentation requirements for any country but in almost all cases its just

a simple customs form.

 

There are no problems in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada,

Japan .. well .. lemme stop there .. it would be easier to list those

countries that do cause problems .. none of the previously listed do this

... shipments go through with ease.

 

Buyers in Mainland China get hassled sometimes if the value of the order is

more than 5,000 yuan .. but this is more a case of the individual customs

agent doing his thing rather than the customs rules themselves. Shipments

to Turkey should be sent to individuals .. not to companies .. Turkish

Customs officials stick it to companies but there are ways around that too

... most Turkish business folks know those ways .. Happy Birthday or

whatever. Some of the countries that are newly experimenting with

Capitalism .. like the Republic of Georgia and Lithuania .. are slow in

their Customs processing but they are also slow in all their bureaucratic

actions.

 

Now .. though it was not asked for .. I will give an Opinion of the Butch

for some of the new folks who are entering the business. Take it or leave

it .. but read well and decide wisely .. I have a good amount of experience

working with the U.S. government and a number of international governments

and I will advise you that an order from John Smith in Dingleberry, Lower

Slobovia might be a ringer order from a fellow working for a U.S. agency.

 

Lemme start by saying that it is my personal opinion that Import Duties on

products sent from outside when the same product is also produced in the

receiver's country is fair .. buy Local does not bother me .. but

Import Duties on any product that is not produced in that country is simply

a legal way to screw citizens. Occasionally we will get a request from

someone in one of the countries that has ridiculous Customs Duties .. like

40% - 50% .. to lower the total shown on the Invoice. I feel for these

folks .. but I can't reach them .. we refuse to do that .. and sometimes we

lose customers as a result because others are willing to do that.

 

My position has always been .. and John (the new owner of AVNP) goes along

with this .. that *Customs is a legal requirement and any attempt to avoid

this via " rubber invoicing " is a violation of both U.S. and International

Customs laws. * *U.S. tax and commerce laws require all companies to

accurately prepare and report their sales .. and be prepared to produce an

Invoice if they are audited. In the U.S.A. you can get less time in jail

for robbing a bank than you can for cheating the U.S. Tax system.*

**

Additionally, I tell the buyers that an accurate Invoice *is insurance for

them because if an order is lost or seized by customs .. we can only

reimburse them for the amount of insurance we could get on the order .. and

that amount can not be more than the amount shown on the Official Invoice.*

 

*Finally .. I tell them that being honest or dishonest is like being

pregnant or not being pregnant .. there is no middle ground there. As a

buyer I prefer to do business with a company that is totally honest .. and

since I opened my Turkish company in 1995 and my American company in 1999,

the motto of both companies has been " Practicing the Disciple of Business

Ethics. " Having spent almost half my life in the military, the term

" ethics " to me means that one does not lie or cheat .. and if we are to

practice business ethics there is a line we can not cross .. we must be

honest with the government .. and the customer. If a company can lie and

cheat in one area .. then they can lie and cheat in another area. Does

Young Living come to mind when you read this?*

**

*Almost all buyers who have requested " special invoicing " accept this

position .. but some don't. It is an individual call as to how one wishes

to do business .. and as to how well they want to sleep nights. We are

not gonna get rich in the EO sales business .. so why play games that can

come back and bite us in the butt?*

 

> thanks!

>

 

Welcome you are .. Merry Christmas to all .. and y'all keep smiling. :-)

 

Butch ... http://www.AV-AT.com <http://www.av-at.com/> .. Almost .. though

unfortunately, not totally .. Retired. ;-)

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

applauding Butch...

 

once a week we get asked " please mark it a gift " or " please mark as

samples " or " please keep the invoice under $100 " ...

 

can't do it. I tell them I legally can't; most customers order anyway,

some cancel. Not a problem. It's not worth the hassle to break the law,

pure and simple. I like to sleep at night.

 

At 03:53 AM 12/26/2009, you wrote:

>that *Customs is a legal requirement and any attempt to avoid

>this via " rubber invoicing " is a violation of both U.S. and International

>Customs laws. * *U.S. tax and commerce laws require all companies to

>accurately prepare and report their sales .. and be prepared to produce an

>Invoice if they are audited. In the U.S.A. you can get less time in jail

>for robbing a bank than you can for cheating the U.S. Tax system.*

>**

>Additionally, I tell the buyers that an accurate Invoice *is insurance for

>them because if an order is lost or seized by customs .. we can only

>reimburse them for the amount of insurance we could get on the order .. and

>that amount can not be more than the amount shown on the Official Invoice.*

 

 

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